


the birthday of a lifetime

by bubblez4u



Series: The Many Adventures of Tobin and Alex [2]
Category: Women's Soccer RPF
Genre: Birthday Fluff, F/F, Humor
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-07-02
Updated: 2016-07-02
Packaged: 2018-07-19 18:55:12
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,733
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7373521
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bubblez4u/pseuds/bubblez4u
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Tobin gifts Alex with a birthday surprise she will never forget.</p>
            </blockquote>





	the birthday of a lifetime

"When does your flight leave?" Kelley asked quietly.

"Midnight. We're supposed to get there sometime in the evening," Tobin said.

The team was at a local restaurant enjoying their last dinner before they all headed back to their respective homes and club teams. Everyone had just finished dessert and Tobin was sitting with Kelley, waiting for Alex to get back from the bathroom.

"And she still has no clue, right?" Kelley asked, leaning in across the table.

"I don't know, does she?" Tobin asked, hinting at the preposterous idea that Kelley may have revealed something to Alex that she wasn't supposed to.

"Moi? Spoil the surprise of the century? I'm offended!" Kelley said a little too loud, causing heads to turn their way.

Tobin put her head in her hands.

"Hopefully she'll be too tired to know what's going on and- Kelley, I told you a million times, I'm not going to have sex with you," Tobin sputtered leaving Kelley baffled.

"O'hara, hands off the merchandise," a raspy voice boomed from behind Kelley.

The defender looked at Tobin as she understood what was going on, but couldn't help shoot her a nasty look for coming up with such a wild accusation. Tobin smiled nervously, hoping Kelley would be the great friend that she is and cover for her.

"Yup, you know me. Always wanting sex from everyone...apparently," she mumbled as she grabbed her water and started sipping on it.

Tobin watched Alex return to the table from the bathroom and take the seat to her right. Alex reached over and planted a giant wet kiss on Tobin's cheek. Tobin scrambled to wipe the slobber off of her cheek.

"Gross. On second thought, I'll keep your offer in my back pocket, Kel," Tobin joked.

Alex smiled mockingly, "Keep that up and that offer might just be the only thing in your pants for a month," she sassed.

Tobin turned red and brought her hand to the back of her neck.

"I'm sorry?" Tobin asked, seeking Alex's approval. By the look on Alex's face, she was not amused which meant Tobin had to try again.

"I love you?" Tobin tried again.

"That's better," Alex's expressionless face was graced with a smile as she leaned over and wrapped her arms around her girlfriend.

Tobin leaned into the touch and relaxed her body. She saw Kelley staring at the pair from across the table with a smirk on her face and making a whipping motion with her hand.

Tobin let it go because she knew it was true.

 

Tobin threw back the covers on the bed. She huffed and got down on her hands and knees before sticking her head under the bed. She came up empty and carefully stood back up. She ran a hand through her hair out of frustration and decided she would have to resort to her last option.

"Lex, have you seen my-" Tobin didn't even have to finish her sentence before Alex was handing the older girl her passport.

"Thanks," Tobin sighed.

"No problem. Your shoes are behind the door, in case you were wondering," Alex said as she grabbed her duffel bag and placed it on top of her carry-on luggage.

It was after dinner and the team was back at the hotel getting ready to go to the airport to catch their flights. Everyone was supposed to be downstairs as soon as they checked their rooms to make sure they hadn't forgotten any of their belongings, but obviously Tobin misplaced far too many items than she could keep track of.

Tobin grabbed her own suitcase and followed Alex, slipping on her flip flops as they passed the door. Alex waited until Tobin was out of the room before letting the door shut and heading toward the elevator. The pair arrived at the lobby and saw that most of their teammates were hanging around waiting for their transportation. Moe, Kling, and Carli were all hanging around near the door waiting for a van since their flight was the earliest. Alex scurried over to the group to say goodbye and Tobin took the opportunity to talk to Ashlyn.

"I'm not making a mistake, am I? She's going to like it, right?" Tobin asked, her voice full of doubt.

"Of course she will. She'd be crazy not to!" Ashlyn reassured.

"So what exactly is your plan?" Ali asked as she came up behind Ashlyn. Tobin had confided in a few of teammates to help her with her plan, which included Ali and Ashlyn.

"Um, well I managed to keep her away from coffee all day and, I got a few extra laps for it, but I asked Dawn to make her weights session today as intense as she could. Hopefully she'll be out of it by the time we start boarding," Tobin explained carefully.

"And Hope knows what to do?" Ash asked.

"Yeah, I talked to her yesterday and everything's a go," Tobin said.

"I can't believe this is actually happening. But hey, if anyone can pull this off, it's you," Ali said with a bright smile.

"Thanks guys," Tobin appreciated everything her friends were doing to help her out and she knows she's indebted to them for life.

A few minutes later Whitney joined the group and they all started talking until Tobin saw Aaron Heifetz stepping out of the elevator. She excused herself from the conversation, leaving her luggage near one of the lobby couches, and ran straight to him.

"Hey Heif! Got my tickets?" she asked him with a smile.

"Sure do! Ah, here they are. Oh, I didn't know Alex was going with you this time?" Aaron said as he sifted through his papers and handed Tobin the two near the bottom of the pile.

"Yeah, it u-uh took a lot of convincing," Tobin said weakly.

"Right," he said skeptically.

"Well, thanks again!" Tobin cleared her throat and dashed off back to the lobby.

One hour later, most of the team had already left the hotel and were at the airport. The only people left were those going to the west coast, the Reign and Portland players, because of their later flights.

Tobin, Alex, and Hope crawled into the van waiting outside after they said goodbye to the team staff. Hope took the front seat while Tobin and Alex got comfy in the back seat. It was a relatively quiet ride to the airport which was a mere twenty minutes away from their hotel. Alex occasionally gave Tobin a quick kiss while Hope messed around with the radio stations in an effort to block out the couple in the back. Tobin pointed out various landmarks to Alex as they watched the scenery blur through the window. When Alex was particularly interested in staring at a statue made out of copper, Tobin glanced over to the side mirror of the car and caught Hope's eyes. Tobin held her stare and gave her a little nod which Hope returned with a nod of her own. Tobin took a deep breath and wiped her sweaty palms on her jeans. She was lost in her thoughts when Alex brought her back to reality and snuggled into her side. Tobin pulled her close and smiled, she knew it would all be worth it.

 

They arrived at the airport and grabbed their luggage as they headed toward the check in counters. West coast flights were usually always in the same terminal and Tobin was counting on that as a key part in making sure her plan didn't fail.

"Lex, you can go sit over there. Hope and I will check us in," Tobin said as she pointed at a row of seats near the bathroom.

"Mkay," Alex yawned and walked over to the seats. She was getting tired and Tobin high fived herself mentally. The midfielder was beginning to think she might actually be able to do this.

Hope and Tobin finished checking in quickly before walking back over to Alex. Hope nudged Tobin with her shoulder as the pair neared the forward. Her eyes were closed and her head was resting on the armrest of the chair. Tobin placed her backpack on the floor before crouching down in front of her girlfriend.

"Lex," Tobin whispered as she gently shook her shoulder.

"Five minutes," Alex mumbled sleepily.

"Alright baby horse, that may work on your girlfriend, but it won't work on me. We've got flights to catch," Hope said as she noticed Tobin about to give in to Alex's wishes.

"Yeah, yeah," Alex said as she got out of the chair and grabbed her duffel bag. The trio headed off to the terminals and this is where Tobin predicted she would face her first potential screw up.

"I'll check what gate we're at," Alex said as she spotted the flight information display board.

Tobin froze. One look at the monitor and all her hard work would be for nothing.

"Y-you don't have to Alex. We checked while you were asleep, we're all at Terminal A," Hope recovered smoothly.

"Sweet," Alex said as she led the way to the terminal.

Tobin gave Hope a "that was close" look and Hope ran a hand through her hair.

They found their way to the security line and stood behind the hoard of people as they waited for their turn. This was the second hurdle Tobin had to cross. Tobin couldn't stop bouncing, so much so that Alex started to take notice.

"You alright, babe? You're kind of jumpy," Alex asked, resting a hand on her girlfriend's shoulder.

"Yeah, just ready to get on the flight," Tobin replied.

The group reached the front of the line and Hope went first, handing her passport and boarding pass to the woman on the right. Tobin and Alex move to the man on the left and the older girl prays the TSA officer doesn't say anything that'll ruin her plan. Tobin hands the man their documents and waits patiently for him to give them back. He looks up at the pair, down to the documents, and then back up at the two. He opens his mouth to say something and Tobin feels herself about to vomit.

"Next," he says as he hands the documents back.

Tobin swallows the lump in her throat and looks over at Alex to make sure she doesn't suspect anything. Tobin relaxes as she sees Alex taking off her shoes and placing her bag on the conveyor belt. Tobin does the same and waits for the officers at the metal detector to signal them to come through.

"Tobs, can I get my passport and boarding pass?" Alex asks as the line gets shorter.

"Yeah, one sec," Tobin says as she looks through the papers and hands Alex her stuff. She had folded the boarding pass inside of the passport so that it wasn't visible. All she needed was for Alex to hand the officer her passport and then for the officer to hand it back to her.

Alex walked up to the machine and waited before being called through and handing the officer her documents. The officer opened up the passport and unfolded the boarding pass before looking at it for a second. He gave it back to Alex and motioned for Tobin to follow through. Tobin handed over her own documents and watched as Alex gathered her luggage and shoes at the end of the conveyor belt. She was in the middle of putting her shoes back on when her passport fell out from under her arm and onto the floor. Tobin grew anxious as she saw a rectangular piece of paper lying a few inches from the passport. She looked at the officer and saw that he was discussing something with his coworker, her documents still in his grasp. Her eyes darted back to Alex, who was mumbling under her breath as she bent down to retrieve the items.

This was it. This was where it all fell apart and there was nothing she could do about it.

"I got it," a voice said as a hand swiped up Alex's documents and gave them back to her.

"Thanks Hope," Alex said, folding the boarding pass in half and tucking it back into her passport without bothering to look at it.

Tobin thanked her lucky stars for Hope Solo and her impeccable timing. The officer gave Tobin her items back after finishing his conversation and she stalked off to collect her luggage.

"You guys ready?" Tobin asked as she approached the two girls.

"Yup," they chirped as the group moved down the terminal.

Tobin noticed Alex's movements getting slower and her yawns becoming more frequent. Tobin slung an arm around her girlfriend and brought her close.

"Only a few more gates," Tobin cooed, trying to keep Alex awake a little longer.

"Ok," Alex hummed.

Tobin spotted the sign to their gate and reached out to get Hope's attention while simultaneously trying to keep Alex balanced.

Hope looked up from her phone and saw what Tobin was pointing at. She got the hint and placed her phone back into her pocket. The trio slowed down and entered the back of the waiting area. Normally, the west coast players would all sit at one gate to pass time since their gates were so close together, so Hope sat down with the couple and pulled out a book to make sure Alex was still clueless about what was going on. They made sure to pick an area that was far from the information display by the boarding door just in case Alex happened to look that way.

Tobin sat down and guided Alex onto the chair next to her. Tobin knew the forward was growing tired because she hadn't said anything for the past ten minutes.

"Lex, go to sleep. We still have some time before we board," Tobin said softly as she grabbed Alex and lowered her onto her lap.

"Thanks, Toby. I love you," Alex looked up at Tobin with tired blue eyes and flashed her a small smile.

Tobin smiled back and started running her fingers through Alex's hair. Alex moaned in approval at the contact and moved closer to the older girl. Tobin felt Alex's breathing even out in a matter of minutes meaning that Alex was out cold.

"Lex, are you awake?" Tobin leaned down and whispered into Alex's ear. She waited for a minute and got no response. Alex was still asleep.

"Hope," Tobin said.

Hope looked up from her book and across the aisle at Tobin.

"I think I'm good," Tobin said as she saw Hope's eyes travel down to the sleeping girl in her lap.

"Are you sure?" Hope asked.

"Yeah, thank you for everything. I owe you big time," Tobin said with a big smile.

"Don't worry about it, Heath. Just do me a favor? Take care of her and don't fuck this up," Hope joked as she placed her book back in her bag and grabbed her carry-on.

"I'll try my best. If you don't see me next time Seattle comes to town, I may have been thrown out of an airplane," Tobin laughed.

"Atleast I'll be getting three points with you out," Hope said as she took out her phone to check the time.

"Alright, I better go. See you soon?" Hope says.

"Yeah. Thanks again," Tobin said as Hope waved goodbye and walked away.

Tobin shut her eyes and sat in silence as she felt her girlfriend's heartbeat in her lap. She did it. She overcame every obstacle that presented itself to get to this point. She was ten minutes away from crossing the finish line.

Tobin decided to take a short nap as well knowing her nerves wouldn't let her sleep on the plane. She was jolted awake when the flight attendant at the information desk made an announcement over the intercom.

"Attention passengers, flight 2719 is now boarding."

"What?" Alex asked as she shifted in Tobin's lap. The announcement had managed to awake the sleeping girl.

"N-nothing, Lex. They're supposed to start boarding soon. Go back to sleep, I'll wake you up when we need to go," Tobin said as she leaned down to plant a kiss on Alex's forehead. Alex started drifting off again when Tobin started rubbing her back slowly.

Tobin saw the other passengers around her getting up and moving toward the front to board the flight. She knew she had to give Alex a few more minutes to make sure she was completely asleep and this way the line would be shorter as well.

Ten more minutes passed and Tobin saw the perfect window to make her move. She carefully lifted Alex off of her lap and placed her onto the seat. She grabbed her backpack and Alex's duffel bag as she threw them over her shoulder. She fished out their boarding passes from her pocket and placed them in between her teeth. Tobin took a deep breath and smiled at the fact that all of her extra weights sessions were finally about to pay off. She bent down in front of Alex and slipped one hand under the sleeping girl's knees and one hand around her back. She swore she heard Dawn's voice telling her to lift with her knees as she picked her girlfriend bridal style.

Tobin bumped into a few people and almost lost her balance, but she found her way to the door of the jet way. The flight attendant who was collecting boarding passes looked up and furrowed her eyebrows at the sight in front of her. Tobin smiled with the boarding passes still in her mouth and watched as the lady grabbed them hesitantly. The lady scanned the documents and motioned for Tobin to keep walking.

"Welcome aboard," she said sweetly as she looked at Alex.

"Thanks," Tobin replied as she walked through the door and down the jet way.

Tobin had to admit she loved the look she got from the flight attendants and passengers when she passed them. Finding their seats proved to be a little tricky as Tobin had to inch her way through the plane, making sure no part of Alex accidentally hit anybody else. Thankfully their seats weren't too far back and she managed to find them quickly.  
She put Alex down in the aisle seat and loaded their luggage into the overhead bins. She was about to climb over Alex and grab the window seat, but she rolled her eyes at what Alex would do if she woke up and wasn't in the window seat. Tobin got up and carefully lifted Alex again before adjusting their seats. Tobin looked at the still sleeping girl and when she was satisfied she plopped down into her own seat.

"Welcome aboard flight 2719, non-stop to Paris. My name is Jim and I'll be your head flight attendant today. If you have any questions feel to ask as we get ready to take off and thank you for choosing Air France," came over the intercom.

Tobin put her hands behind her head and took a deep breath. It worked. Her plan worked and everything was going to be fine. At least she hoped. She still had the small task of telling Alex what was going on, but that could wait.

 

8 hours passed by with Tobin dozing in and out of sleep. Every once in a while she would see Alex wake up and stretch or move around in her seat trying to get comfortable. Neither of them realized how fast the time went by because soon enough, the plane had landed.

Both girls were wide awake and ready to de-board. Alex had some headphones in while Tobin played with her hands. The plane stopped taxiing after what seemed like forever and Tobin prepared herself for what was about to come.

"I feel like I slept for 8 hours," Alex exclaimed as she felt the plane pull to a stop and began to put her headphones away.

"It was a pretty great nap," Tobin chuckled nervously.

"Welcome to Paris where the local time is 4:36 p.m. Please stay seated until the cabin doors have been opened and don't forget to check for any misplaced belongings. Once again thank you for choosing to fly with us and we hope you have a safe journey wherever your final destination may be," Jim said over the intercom.

"Thanks a lot, Jim," Tobin mumbled. She thought she would have until at least they got off the plane to tell Alex, but apparently not.

"I think this guy needs to go back to school. I swear he just said we were in Paris," Alex chuckled lightly as she began to gather her stuff.

"Portland is the Paris of Oregon," Tobin tried.

Alex laughed at Tobin's stupid joke and lifted up the visor that blocked the window. Tobin looked away and waited for the explosion.

"Hey, maybe he's on the wrong plane," Alex said pointing to the plane pulling up next to them, "there's an Air France right next to us."

"That's cool," Tobin replied still refusing to look at Alex.

"Look! There's another one," Alex exclaimed again.

"Weird," Tobin replied.

There were a few minutes of silence before Alex put two and two together.

"Tobin Powell Heath," Tobin heard from beside her.

"Yeah?" Tobin asked weakly, partially covering her mouth with her hand.

"You didn't," Alex said firmly.

When she didn't get a response she tried again.

"Tobin, look at me," Alex said grabbing Tobin's face and forcing her to make eye contact, "tell me you didn't do what I think you did."

"Surprise," Tobin said as she brought her hands up and her voice wavered.

Alex didn't crack a smile or say another word. She simply stared at the back of the seat in front of her and clenched her jaw.

Tobin ran her hands over her face. She was dead. There go her dreams of becoming a world champion. She began to tap her foot nervously as she saw it was their turn to get off the plane. She got up and let Alex get out first before grabbing their luggage and following her. She was a few steps behind Alex and when she exited the jet way, she saw the forward standing at the information desk.

"Hi, I need two tickets on the next flight to Portland," Alex said to the lady who nodded and started typing on her computer.

"Come on, Alex, just hear me out," Tobin said as she tried to drag Alex away from the counter.

"Why should I, Tobin? You lied to me! I can't believe you did this! We aren't children anymore, we have responsibilities! But instead you decide to avoid them by flying half way across the world," Alex finished as she yanked her arm out of Tobin's grasp and went back to the counter.

"Maybe next time Paris," Tobin said glumly as she looked around and walked back to Alex.

"I'm sorry ma'am. The next available flight to Portland isn't until July 4th," the lady behind the desk said.

Tobin smiled and Alex frowned. Alex crossed her arms and turned back to Tobin.

"Well, I guess you get what you wanted after all. Let's go," Alex said as she started walking where the hoards of people were going.

Tobin struggled to keep up with her the whole way, but they claimed their luggage and walked outside where they found a taxi. Alex opened the back seat and slammed it shut while Tobin put their luggage away and told the driver where they needed to go.

They reached their destination and Tobin paid the driver as Alex got out of the vehicle and collected their belongings. They were standing in front of a tall apartment building.

"Here, let me," Tobin went to grab the luggage from Alex, but Alex shrugged her away.

Tobin sighed and started walking into the building. She held the doors for Alex as she walked behind her and they stepped into the elevator. Tobin pushed a button and the elevator began to move. They got out once the elevator stopped and Tobin took a left down the hallway. She grabbed a key from her pocket and Alex watched as she looked for the right apartment. She finally found it and Tobin unlocked the door and held it open for Alex to enter. Alex walked inside, but came to halt when she saw what was in front of her.

"Laure let me borrow it for a bit. It's going to cost me seven hours of English lessons next time she's in the States, but it's worth it," Tobin said as she walked over to Alex and stood next to her.

The view was one to die for. The wall across the living room was made entirely out of glass producing a view only seen in movies. Alex could see the Eiffel Tower like she was standing right in front of it and the streets below that were buzzing with life were right at her disposal.

Tobin thought that Alex would forgive her after sewing the view, but she was wrong.

"Where's the bedroom?" Alex asked flatly.

"I'll show you," Tobin said as she walked through the apartment.

The more of this place Alex saw, the more she fell in love. It was adorned with classical decor and vintage furniture. The ambient lighting provided a romantic atmosphere, perfect for the city of love. It was cozy in size, not too big and not too small. Beautiful artwork lined the walls and the wood flooring brought it all together.

Tobin opened the door to what had to be the master bedroom and Alex put the luggage down by the door. She immediately opened up her suitcase and grabbed her essentials.

"I'm going to freshen up," Alex said and walked into the bathroom.

Tobin threw herself onto the bed in defeat and wondered if maybe she should just take Alex home. She clearly didn't want to be here and Tobin couldn't stand the younger girl being angry at her.

Tobin was in her own world until Alex came out of the shower dressed in an over-sized shirt and running shorts. She got into bed and turned so her back was facing Tobin. Tobin knew Alex might try to sleep her problems away and she was fine with that, she didn't have anything planned for them to do because she knew they would be battling jet lag anyway.

"Lex, can we talk?" Tobin turned on her side to face Alex's back.

"Talk," it was a simple command.

"I cleared everything before we got here," Tobin said gently.

"What?" Alex turned around so the two were facing each other.

"I checked to make sure you could do this. I talked to your agent and he said he could move some stuff around so you would be free for the next week. I ran it by your parents just to be sure they didn't have any objections. And I talked to Coach too, he said it was cool because he was going to give us the week off anyway because of camp," Tobin explained.  
Alex's eyes softened a little, but she kept quiet.

"I'm sorry, I just wanted to do something special for your birthday and we had that stupid bet and for once our schedules actually worked out. I just wanted this to be perfect," Tobin finished.

Alex moved closer to Tobin and placed a hand on her cheek. Tobin felt her favorite lips touch her own and she closed her eyes.

"I'm sorry, Tobin," Alex started. Tobin tried to interject, but Alex beat her to it.

"Let me finish?" Alex asked sweetly as she put her arm around the midfielder and buried her face into her neck.

"I'm sorry for yelling at you and not appreciating you like I should. I've just been on edge lately with all these injuries and I took it out on you. This must've taken days to plan and instead of enjoying it, I'm sitting here mad at the person I love because she was just trying to make me happy. I'm sorry," Alex finishes gracefully.

"Does that mean you'll stay?" Tobin asked hopefully asked caressed the forward in her arms.

"How long were you planning on staying?" Alex asked.

"I don't exactly have that planned out yet, but I was thinking a few days, if you want," Tobin said as she heard Alex giggle beneath her.

Alex lifted herself out of Tobin's arms and sat up on the bed.

"How about this? Since the lady told us there were available tickets to Portland for the 4th, we stay until the 3rd and we figure out if we want to leave the next day or not. Deal?" Alex asked.

"Deal," Tobin said, jumping on Alex and tackling her in a bear hug.

"Go shower, you smell like the airport," Alex squealed and pushed Tobin off of her.

Tobin rolled her eyes playfully at Alex's hygiene request and hopped into the shower. After she was done, she joined Alex in bed and the two of them fell asleep, waiting for what the new day would bring them.

 

"Lex, get up," Alex heard soft whispers next to her. She felt a pair of soft lips on her cheek and smiled, which only encouraged them to keep going. Her face was peppered in feather light kisses and she opened her eyes. Tobin was sitting on the edge of the bed holding a cup of coffee in her hands.

"What time is it?" Alex asked as a yawn overcame her.

"Breakfast time!" Tobin said excitedly as she held the cup of coffee out for Alex to take.

Alex sat up against the headboard and took the cup into her hands. She took a sip and felt warmth spread throughout her entire body.

"Do you like it? It's some special French brew Laure gave me," Tobin said.

"It's amazing," Alex said. She put the cup down on the nightstand and stretched her arms above her head.

"Come on, I have something for you," Tobin said as she patted Alex's thigh and walked out of the room. Alex grabbed her coffee and followed the older girl outside. She was immediately hit with a sweet smell that filled the air. She smiled when she saw that Tobin had pushed everything in the living room to one side and set up a high rise dining table right in front of the giant glass windows.

"Happy birthday, Lex!" Tobin stood in front of the table and gestured toward the presentation.

Alex walked over to Tobin and gave her a giant hug.

"Thank you," Alex whispered before pulling back. Tobin pushed Alex toward the table and pulled out one of chairs for Alex to sit on. In the center of the table was a single lit candle and in her plate Tobin had prepared a completely Parisian meal.

"I know you're supposed to have candlelight dinners or whatever, but I felt like we should try something new since we're in a new place. So I present to you our very first candlelight breakfast," Tobin explained proudly.

"I love it," Alex said as her smile grew. Only Tobin would her own twist on something so traditional.

"Cool. Let's eat, we have a lot to do today!" Tobin said as she grabbed her fork and started poking at the food.

The two tried everything on the table even when Tobin didn't know what it was. She had ordered everything from a small café across the street and even had to text Laure, asking her what some of the food was.

After they finished eating Tobin ushered them back into the bedroom and made Alex sit on the patiently while she looked around her bag for something.

"Are your eyes closed?" Tobin asked, her hands still in her bag.

"Yes, Tobin" Alex said with her hands covering her eyes.

Tobin turned around to make sure Alex wasn't lying and after she made sure Alex was temporarily blind, she put her hands behind her back and sat on the bed.

"Open your eyes," Tobin said biting her bottom lip.

Alex removed her hands from her face and saw Tobin holding a plastic baggy full of candy wrappers.

"Wrong striker, Tobin. I'm sure Christen would appreciate this, being the simple girl she is and all, but I on the other hand..." Alex joked.

"No, just take it," Tobin said giving Alex the bag.

Alex took the bag and searched through the contents.

"These are all-"

"Kisses!" Tobin finished. The bag was full of the paper strips that stick out of Hershey's kisses.

"They're kiss coupons! Get it?" Tobin said as she laughed at her own joke.

"You're such a dork," Alex said, bringing Tobin in for a kiss.

"That'll be one coupon please," Tobin said.

Alex pushed Tobin off the bed so that she landed on the floor with a small thud.

"I'm going to get ready, are you coming?" Alex asked as she got off the bed and went to the bathroom.

"I don't know, the view from down here is pretty great," Tobin said as she lay on the floor staring at Alex’s hips sway back and forth as she walked away.

 

Tobin and Alex got ready for what Tobin described as a day "you'll never forget". They spent a few hours roaming the local shops and buying cute handmade items that they probably didn't need. Alex bought small souvenirs for her family and the team while Tobin kept an eye out for the perfect gift for Alex. Tobin had pointed out an old bookstore and told Alex to pick out something nice for Hope while she went into another shop to look for something Ash and Ali would like. Tobin had told Alex how much her friends had helped Tobin set everything up while they were walking down the streets and Alex agreed that the least they could do was bring them some gifts.

Tobin walked into what ended up being a jewelry shop owned by an old woman. Using her very limited French, Tobin described Ali and Ash as a couple and asked for something that would suit them. The woman told Tobin she would be right back and disappeared to the back of the shop so Tobin decided to look around. Her eyes caught a sign that said "Free Engravings" and Tobin kept it in the back of her mind. The woman returned with a necklace in one hand and a bracelet in the other. The bracelet was a leather band with a small silver middle that had the words "My One" etched into it while the necklace was a small silver rectangle on a thin chain with the words "My Only" carved into it. Tobin smiled at how spot on the gifts were and purchased them. She walked outside and spotted Alex playing a game of pick up football with some kids in the street. Tobin leaned up against the door of the shop she just exited and watched as Alex chased the kids and left them in awe with her skills. Alex saw Tobin down the street and waved for her to come over, so she did.

"Tobs, look at what I got for Hope!" Alex passed the ball to a little boy before running over to her bag and showing Tobin the gift.

"It's a vintage copy of Les Miserables. Oh, and I also found this fancy journal so she can write all of her goalkeeping notes in it instead of on hotel notepads," Alex said as she showed Tobin her finds.

Tobin showed Alex what she purchased for Ali and Ash and Alex swooned over how cute the pieces of jewelry were.

"Tobs, you have to come play with us," Alex said after they were done going over everything they bought for their friends and family.

Tobin looked down at her watch, "I guess one game wouldn't hurt," she shrugged. 

Alex dragged her to the group of kids and they all started playing. Tobin taught a few kids how to nutmeg and Alex taught some of them how to milk their fouls. It was one o'clock when Tobin decided they needed to get going. The couple waved goodbye to the kids and Tobin hailed a taxi for the both of them.

They arrived at a small restaurant located on the edge of the Seine river. It offered a gorgeous view of the waterway and the Eiffel Tower in the distance. Tobin told the waiter her name and he directed them to one of their outdoor tables right on the river.

"Everything here sounds so good!" Alex said looking through the menu.

"Yeah, you won't be needing that," Tobin said as she plucked the menu from Alex's hands. She started telling her a story about her PSG days and how she came to this exact restaurant with her teammates and thought she had ordered tomato soup. Turns out it ended up being some kind of raw meat covered in egg. This time Tobin made sure to order ahead to avoid anything like that happening again.

Tobin called the waiter over and gave the menus back while ordering two waters. They talked while they waited for their food to arrive when out of nowhere, a man approached their table with a red rose in his hand.

"Bon anniversaire," he said as he handed Alex the rose.

Alex looked at Tobin for clarification and she smiled.

"It means happy birthday," Tobin said.

"I- thank you," Alex replied shocked. The man nodded his head and walked away.

"I didn't know you were that famous, superstar," Tobin teased, watching as a light blush appeared on Alex's cheeks.

Tobin and Alex continued their conversation until they were interrupted again, this time by a woman holding a red rose. It happened 9 more times while they were waiting for their food, each stranger wishing Alex a happy birthday and handing her a flower. By the time their food arrived, Alex was clutching a bouquet of red roses in her hand. Alex had never felt so special in her life.

The waiter set their food and waters down on the table. When the waiter was done, he patiently stood by their table. Alex was confused and thought he wanted a tip, but her confusion was quickly cleared when another waiter joined the first. The second waiter was holding a white rose with a note attached to the stem. Only when Alex accepted the rose did the waiters disperse. Alex twirled the rose in her hands before taking the note off the flower and reading it.

"I will love you until the last rose dies. -T," Alex read aloud. Alex looked at the rose she was holding more closely and realized it was made of plastic.

She looked up after reading the note and expected to see a few tears on the face of the midfielder as she passionately expressed her love for her girlfriend, but instead she saw Tobin stuffing her face with food. Alex looked at her with loving eyes and wondered to herself what in the world she did to deserve Tobin Heath.

After lunch, Tobin takes Alex to see all the touristy thing in Paris including the Eiffel Tower, the Louvre, and the Arc de Triomphe. They take silly pictures together, join random tours they weren’t a part of, and get lost more times than they can count.

 

Before they know it, the sun is getting ready to set and they're back at the apartment to put everything they bought throughout the day in a safe place. Alex begged Tobin to take a short nap with her, but Tobin knew one thing would lead to another and she would end up cuddling with her girlfriend for the rest of the night. Tobin let Alex take a fifteen minute nap before waking her up and convincing her to come with Tobin for their last adventure of the day.

Tobin grabbed Alex's coat for her and they made their way out of the apartment. They exited the building and sitting on the sidewalk was a Vespa.

"No way," Alex asked as she ran up to the scooter.

Tobin followed her and pulled out two helmets from underneath the seat of the scooter.

"Hop on," Tobin put her helmet in and got on to the scooter.

"Are we allowed to do this?" Alex asked grabbing the helmet and getting behind Tobin.

"Literally, yeah, Laure used to let me ride this thing all the time. Legally, probably not," Tobin said as she turned the key to the Vespa and twisted the throttle.

"Tobin!" Alex grabbed onto Tobin's waist as they sped off down the streets of Paris.

Tobin may have lost control of the scooter a few times and Alex may have yelled at her more times than she cared to admit, but they reached their destination in one piece and that's all that really mattered.

The sun was touching the horizon painting the sky in shades of pink and orange. Tobin intertwined her hand with Alex's and they strolled down the sidewalk before arriving at a giant wall. Most of it was concrete except for the bottom half which was covered in blue tiles and white lettering. Tobin put her hand on Alex's lower back and pushed her closer to the wall. Alex let her fingertips touch the tile and tried to make out what was written. She had no idea what the words were supposed to mean until she spotted three familiar words written in English right above a small heart.

"Je t'aime," Tobin said as she came up behind Alex and wrapped her arms around the younger girl.

"It's so beautiful," Alex said.

"I know," Tobin said. She wasn't looking at the wall. 

Tobin let go of Alex and twirled her around.

"Wait here," Tobin said as she walked back to the Vespa and returned with a bag in her hands.

Alex watched as Tobin put the bag down on the bench and turn around with her hands behind her back.

Tobin started closing the gap between them and took a deep breath when she was one foot away from the love of her life. She got down on one knee and Alex gasped.  
"Tobs," Alex said with sad eyes. They had talked about marriage before and Alex made it extremely clear she wasn't ready to get married anytime soon. Now her girlfriend was down on one knee, in front of a wall full of "I love you's" on her birthday and she didn’t know what to do.

"Don't worry," Tobin smiled, "I'm not proposing."

Alex visibly deflated and the smile returned to her face.

"But this is a proposal," Tobin said. Alex tilted her head and let Tobin explain.

Tobin revealed what she was hiding behind her back. In one hand she was holding a thin velvet box and in the other she was holding her phone.

"I consider this city a second home, Lex. I have so many amazing memories here and the fact that I finally got to create new memories here with you means more to me than you'll ever know. We decided on figuring out if we wanted to leave tomorrow, but I don't think I can wait that long. I know today was full of surprises and you probably think it was just because of your birthday, but if you choose to stay here with me for a few more days, I promise to make everyday just like this one. If you want to go home, I'll go with you. Our tickets are reserved on my phone, all I have to do is confirm them and we'll be out of here," Tobin left the decision to Alex.

"Tobin, put your phone away," Alex said helping Tobin off the ground.

"Really? You want to stay?" Tobin asked as her eyes sparkled.

"Of course I do," Alex said, bringing Tobin in for a passionate kiss. Alex captured Tobin's bottom lip in between her own and buried her hands in the midfielder's hair.

“Oh, this is for you,” Tobin said when she came out of the daze she was in after kissing Alex.

Tobin opened the velvet box and took out two pieces of long string.

“Where did you get these?” Alex asked as she took her cleat laces into her hands.

“Just read them,” Tobin dismissed her.

Alex turned them over and read what was etched into them.

Et je l’aime 7/2/2016

“And I love her. July 2nd, 2016,” Tobin translated.

Alex felt tears start to run down her face and she laughed at what her make-up would look like half an hour from now. Tobin saw Alex crying and wiped her tears away before they could fall.

The two girls walked back to the Vespa and they ended their perfect day with a quiet dinner and tasting some of the famous wine France had to offer.

 

Alex and Tobin tumbled into the apartment after finishing their meal, a little tipsy from the wine. Tobin took Alex's coat off of her and threw it onto the couch. Alex skipped into the bedroom and put a finger in the air to beckon Tobin. Tobin jogged into the room, but Alex was nowhere in sight.

"Lex?" Tobin treaded deeper into the room.

She figured Alex might be in the bathroom and turned around to find her, but she felt a pair of hands shove her onto the bed. She saw her favorite blue eyes, hovering over her, a shade darker than they usually were.

"I'd like to redeem my kiss coupons," Alex said in a sickeningly sweet voice.

"H-how many?" Tobin stuttered as she felt her arms being dragged above her head. She felt her heart start to beat faster and her palms grow sweaty.

"All of them," Alex's voice came out an octave lower as she pulled her shirt over her head.

 

Alex chose to stay. She chose to try food she's never heard of. She chose to meet new people. She chose to embrace a different culture. She chose to go on a foreign adventure with her best friend. She chose to fall in love all over again.

**Author's Note:**

> Sorry this wasn't as emotional as it should have been. I had to rush it to get it out on time, forgive me. Happy birthday Alex!


End file.
